“Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house.“ Proverbs 5:8

There are places where we simply shouldn’t be. One day, someone pointed out to me that Eve was standing near the tree with the forbidden fruit. I had never thought of that before. Indeed, what was she doing there? But the worst part is that Moses, by the Holy Spirit, mentions that “her husband was with her” (Genesis 3:6)! Why did they come near the forbidden tree?

I imagine the garden was very large, immense even, and the serpent was waiting exactly at that spot. So why were Adam and Eve walking around there?

We could avoid so many problems if we knew how to set boundaries for ourselves, if we prevented ourselves from getting close to certain people or things. It reminds me of fasting.

Many people, when they fast, walk past their fridge ten times. They hover over the pot while food is being prepared for the family. Then, eventually, they open the fridge, look inside, and end up nibbling on something. Don’t go near the fridge!

While I was writing this thought, my little daughter was eating with her sleeve dragging in her plate. Yet I had told her to roll up her sleeves! That’s exactly how many people act — they think they can approach sin without getting stained. But when we get close to sin, we will always end up stained.

Have you ever cooked onions or fries? I’ve met quite a few people who had eaten some the day before — you could smell it on their clothes! Some hadn’t even eaten any, but they stayed in the kitchen too long. The smell had soaked into their clothes.

I pray: I wish that my garments would never smell like sin. You delivered me and gave me the strength to walk away from it — thank You!

This text is an excerpt from the book “365 DAYS AT THE HEART OF PROVERBS” written by Jérémy Sourdril.

We invite you to read the following article: “THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR OWN PLANS”.

DO NOT COME NEAR. DO NOT COME NEAR.